The London Heroes Checks
Fifteen checks. Identity before any work. Five that never stop.
Anyone can list checks they ran once, at sign-up. The checks that protect you are the ones still running the day your Hero knocks on the door.
Before any work
Six checks before a Hero can take a job
No Hero can quote for or be assigned work until these are approved.
- 1
Photo identity document
Original camera capture only — screenshots and photos-of-photos are rejected automatically by image forensics.
- 2
Selfie
A live selfie, quality-gated the same way.
- 3
Selfie holding the document
The step that defeats borrowed documents — the person and the document, together, in one original photo.
- 4
Automated document cross-check
Software reads the document and compares the details against what was typed. It assists; it never decides.
- 5
Human review of every application
A person approves or rejects every application, against a 3-hour review target, and gives a written reason for any rejection.
- 6
Business verification (limited companies)
Companies House number, role and person-with-significant-control declaration.
For the work a Hero offers
Four the Hero Agreement requires
Each credential is reviewed by our team when the Hero adds it, and only verified ones show on the Passport.
- 7
Gas Safe registration (gas work)
The Hero's Gas Safe card with its registration number, reviewed by our team. The Hero Agreement requires current Gas Safe registration for any gas work through London Heroes, and a Hero must stop offering gas work if it lapses.
- 8
Electrical competence (electrical work)
Competent-person scheme membership (NICEIC, NAPIT or equivalent), with its evidence reviewed by our team. The Hero Agreement requires an electrician to hold it.
- 9
Public liability insurance
The certificate itself, with the insurer and expiry date, reviewed by our team and shown on the public Passport, with its cover amount where one is given. The Hero Agreement requires every Hero to hold it.
- 10
Signed Hero Agreement
A personalised contract under the law of England and Wales, issued to every Hero whose identity check is approved, and signed electronically.
Forever after
Five checks that never stop
This is the part no directory offers — verification as a living system, not a sign-up form.
- 11
Daily credential expiry monitoring
Every verified credential that carries an expiry date is checked against it every day. Once that date passes, the credential shows as EXPIRED on the public Passport — never hidden.
- 12
Payment held until you confirm
Your payment is held from booking and released to the Hero when you confirm the job is done, or after a dispute you raise is resolved in the Hero's favour. Not a £1,000 cap — the whole job price.
- 13
Verified-only reviews
Only the client of a real, completed, paid job can review it, once. No bought stars, no incentives.
- 14
Evidence-first disputes
Raise an issue before confirming and release freezes while our team investigates the job's full timeline.
- 15
The live public record
Each Hero's Passport shows their verified identity, their verified credentials and their reviews — today's status, not a laminated card from years ago.
Straight answers
How is this different from a directory's vetting checks?
Directory checks run once, when a tradesperson signs up, and mostly verify paperwork exists. On London Heroes, no Hero can take any work until their identity is checked, including a selfie holding their identity document and a decision by a person on every application. Each credential the Hero Agreement requires is reviewed by our team as the Hero adds it, and 5 checks never stop: daily credential expiry monitoring, payment held until you confirm, verified-only reviews, evidence-first disputes, and a live public Passport showing today's status.
What happens if a Hero's insurance or Gas Safe registration lapses?
Every day, the platform checks the expiry date recorded on each verified credential: insurance must carry one, and a Gas Safe registration is tracked this way when its expiry date was recorded. Once that date has passed, the credential shows as expired on the Hero's public Passport, never hidden, and both the Hero and our team are told. Nothing pauses automatically. The Hero Agreement requires a Hero to stop offering gas work if their Gas Safe registration lapses, is suspended or is restricted, and to keep their insurance in force for as long as the Agreement runs. A renewal goes through the same review before it shows as verified.